The west is moving through a paradigm shift at this point. I do not agree that creativity and drive are dead though, in the last few years we have seen things like twitter and Facebook appear from nowhere and are now worth billions.

There is Elon Musk in California who is engaged in multiple revolutions, Tesla (electric cars) Space X (private space travel) Solar City (looking to lower the cost and increase the availability of solar power for houses)

We are on the cusp of major leaps in material manipulation (nanotech) which will remap many things including manufacturing and Healthcare. The traditional 4 year university is being supplanted by on demand learning delivered at a distance.

We are headed to what can be called the third wave of civilization, (the first being Agricultural, the second being industrial) Corporations will shift to a surge approach to workforces, and more people will go the route of entrepreneurship.

It is up to governments to assist in this transition, (not foolishly cling to old paradigm) new protocols and laws need to be written with an eye to the future.

There is a great book about all of this, I highly recommend, called America 3.0. Reading this book has given me a renewed sense of optimism that all though we are going through a lot of turmoil we will survive, it will be different, but we will make it after all.

America 3.0: Rebooting American Prosperity in the 21st Century-Why America's Greatest Days Are Yet to Come: James C. Bennett, Michael J. Lotus: 9781594036439: Amazon.com: Books